The Self Is an Illusion
Presenter:
Dr. Sam Harris
Time:
6:54
Summary
Sam Harris describes the properties of consciousness and how mindfulness practices of all stripes can be used to transcend one's ego.
Transcript
One of the problems we have in discussing consciousness scientifically is that consciousness is irreducible subjective. This is a point that many philosophers have made. Thomas Nagle, John Sol, David Chalmers, uh, and I've, well, I don't agree with everything they've said about consciousness. I agree with them on this point that consciousness is what it's like to be you.
If there's, if there's an experiential, internal qualitative dimension to any physical, Then that is consciousness and we can't reduce the experiential side to talk of information processing and neurotransmitters and, and states of the brain in our case because, uh, and, and people want to do this. Someone like Francis Krick said famously, you're nothing but a pack of neurons.